No Place Like Home
by melinda08
Summary: What makes Doc decide to read the letter from the first movie? He finally gets to thank Marty for saving his life, and Marty does likewise. Slashy overtones.


**For Max**

As Doc stared at the fragments of the letter Marty had written him, he thought about how wrong it would be for him to read this. So many things could go wrong. No man should know his future. Future. There was that word again. It was a blessing and a curse to know that he had made time travel possible. For once he had done something worth living for, something he would be remembered for long after he was gone. He would be remembered up there in the ranks of Einstein and Franklin, two of his lifelong idols. That gave him chills just thinking about it. Never in his life did he imagine that one of his inventions would amount to anything, though it never stopped him from trying. A time machine- in the form of a DeLorean on top of that! To travel in style! Though he had never heard of a DeLorean, that sounded like something he would do. Why not go all the way? Anyone could go in a Chevy but to go in such a sharp and futuristic car, now that took some pizzazz. Not too bad for a man of his means, a man who had been told no all of his life.

Not that that had ever stopped him. When there was a will there was a way, that's what he had always said. Where would the world be if Edison had been told it couldn't be done? Or Franklin? Or Einstein? Maybe he was getting ahead of himself by comparing himself to these great men but time travel- no man had ever attempted this to his knowledge and definitely no one had succeded. This would be his legacy, his mark on the world. The name Emmitt Brown would be remembered as a man ahead of his time, thanks to his refusal to give up, and to his hitting his head on the sink in that funny twist of fate in 1955. No need to mention that in any award ceremonies that might be bestowed upon him. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. It was reward enough to know that he had done something that had mattered- man could travel in time, and it was all thanks to the flux capacitor.

And now in front of him were the tattered remains of a letter that Marty had written him concerning his fate 30 years in the future. What was his friend thinking? Didn't he know that no man should know too much about his own destiny? Of course he did; Doc himself had told him that repeatedly. This must be urgent if he had ignored his request. Part of him wanted to know, it was only human nature. But this was dangerous territory; he was playing with time, something he feared would happen if the time machine were to fall into the wrong hands.

Doc thought of Marty and their friendship. Marty was just a kid, but he was probably the best friend he'd ever had, even though he'd only known him for a week. It seemed like he'd knew him all of his life. It must have been the time thing. All he knew was that he would miss him, and he couldn't wait for the next 30 years to catch up with him and all of the progress he'd made with all of his other inventions. Only Marty would understand. Doc didn't know why, but he knew Marty would. But he was happy for him. He was probably catching up with his family and his girl. He knew he was crazy about her. Doc really wasn't into girls, though he admired them from a safe distance. They wouldn't understand his life work, and they would only distract him from what he was trying to accomplish. Imagine if he would have had a girl at his house the day he'd invented the flux capacitor! She would have been so busy bandaging his head that the thought would never have popped into his head. Some things were for the better. Maybe some day when the time was right- timing was everything- but for right now he had a lot of work to do, and he couldn't take any chances.

Suddenly one thought popped into his head.

_What the hell?_

Where that came from, he didn't know, but he knew he was prone to off the wall, random thoughts. Marty wouldn't have pushed this if it weren't important. Marty had placed his future in his hands, and maybe it was time Doc did the same. So he grabbed the pieces of paper and ran back to his lab where he carefully pieced the paper together, and then slowly read it.

Take the proper precautions… it slowly dawned on him what it meant. He was in danger… Doc had put himself in a precarious predicament and he had to be careful. He didn't know what he would do 30 years from now but he would worry about it then. He owed it to Marty as much as he did himself.

00000

30 years later

Lying on the ground, Doc thought of all that had happened over the past 30 years that had brought him to that moment. He thought of the flux capacitor, he thought of hitting his head on the sink, he thought of Einey traveling in time, he thought of the Libyans, but most of all he thought of Marty. He had saved his life in more ways than one. He reinforced his dream, he gave him something worth living for. He proved to him that time travel was indeed possible so every day he strove torwards that goal, and finally it had succeeded. It took most of his time and money but here he was, lying on the ground, as a result of that effort. He didn't know where Marty was, but he hoped he was safe. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if those Libyan bastards got ahold of him and took away the one person who believed in him, even when he didn't.

"Doc… you're alive!" an incredulous Marty exclaimed as he kneeled over his friend.

Doc slowly opened his eyes and carefully unzipped his suit, revealing the one thing that had kept him alive- a bulletproof vest.

Marty looked at him.

"It's okay Marty." He pulled out the letter.

"But I thought… You said…."

"I figured… what the hell?" Doc smiled as he sat up.

"Doc, I thought I would never see you again. I thought that you were dead. There was so much I wanted to say to you…"

Doc grabbed Marty by the shoulders. "There is so much I want to say to you. You saved me. You gave me my life back. You saved me from the Libyans but you gave me a reason to hold on. I was ready to give up on my dreams, on my very existence, but you came along and suddenly I was free again. Free to keep dreaming, to keep living, to keep being. I had new meaning in my life, something worth fighting for. And I owe that all to you."

"Ah Doc," Marty shrugged. "You would have had that anyways. You yourself had just discovered the flux capacitor."

"Yes but you put two and two together for me. You proved to me that time travel was possible. I kept going because I knew it was a possibility- no, a reality. You came along when I needed faith the most. I can never repay you for what you've done for me."

"Thanks Doc. But you've done something for me too. I never really knew my parents before and I now see them in a new light. I feel like I have a family. And back then, in 1955, I meant what I said when I called you my uncle. I would be proud to call you my uncle."

Doc smiled, then pulled him in for an embrace. After a minute the two finally pulled away.

"Now let's get you back home where you belong."

Home. It was a long time coming for Marty, but Doc was proud that he could say he could get him there. Out of all of his accomplishments, this was his greatest. Seeing Marty reunited with his family was all the thanks he needed, but the hug meant something too. He was proud of that kid. He was going places in the not to distant future. The future- it was wide open. But for right now all he knew there was no place like home.

The end


End file.
